Hi.

Nov 30 Festive Designs In Press

Hi everyone I hope you are all getting into the festive mood. Here at Madfuncreative we are always excited about Christmas. With three kids its hard not to as that is all they are talking about..... and who can blame them!

Today I wanted to share a couple of Magazine articles that feature products that I designed the prints for. As a designer its always exciting to see your designs in magazines especially as you have worked hard to get them into store and hopefully people love them and want to have them in their homes.

As some of you know I have worked for various retailers in the UK as well abroad and I now work with Sainsburys on both their fashion and homeware departments. Here I get to work with a great group of talented designers and as a team we take a trend and design various ranges be it stationary, homeware, kitchenware, bedding, outdoor living or Fashion.

In Decembers issue of Marie Claire there is a two page spread on the classic reds and greens for this season. For me this range embraces the traditional motifs of christmas with the robin and the wreath updated to give it a fresh appeal.

For this collection I hand painted all of the motifs which are then scanned and used to create designs into repeat. I also build up layers for example on the wreath. As mentioned I work with a great team of designers and the lovely Laura Cartner designer on Cookware takes my motifs and puts them on items such as dinnerware, mugs, bowls etc and its always exciting when the samples come back and you actually get to see the final pieces. Louise Rynehart is the designer on Textiles who took my wreath motif and added machine embroidery and french knots. So what was a flat design comes to life and I love the detail Louise has chosen for this cushion. Here is a close up of the final product.

Continuing with the Traditional Trend from Sainsburys is a handpainted check range as seen in Novembers issue of Ideal Home. The red and green is key in this trend and I love what Laura has done with my hand painted check. The pattern is seen not only in the dinner plates and bowls but the mug to which is my favourite piece in the range.

I hope these magazine articles get you into the festive spirit. Its a great starting point for me and Caroline as we plan meals with friends and family in the coming weeks. To have a festive theme around the dinner table as well as cooking a great christmas meal. We love this traditional theme and hope you are inspired to. I don't know about you but as the weekend approaches I think a trip to Sainsburys will be on my things to do.....I've got my eye on the Robin mug a great conversational piece.